GREENFIELD

Board closer to ruling on housing plan

GREENFIELD — The Planning Board this month granted waivers allowing the grade of the road at the proposed Sawmill Estates housing development to exceed two percent at an intersection and an eight percent maximum grade, bringing the project one step closer to approval.

Planners also decided that sidewalks or bike paths will not be required in the subdivision. The rulings were made at the board’s July 22 meeting.

Landowner Gene Mitchell’s plan calls for 25 lots in an open-space development subdivision on approximately 95 acres located off Sawmill Road. Approximately 50 acres of the sloping site are not suitable for development. That land will be left as open space, much of it in a undeveloped ring around the outside of the site.

The project is intended to be a private development, under the management of a homeowners’ association, and the roads will be maintained by the homeowners’ association.

Planning Board Chair Bob Marshall said Tuesday that the board felt the request for a steeper road was reasonable.

“They wanted to go to 8.2 percent and 8.3 percent, because of the lay of the land,” Marshall said.

Planning Board members also discussed the handling of easements on land crossing the open space portions of the acreage. Chad Branon of Fieldstone Land Consultants of Milford, representing the developer, said easements will be clearly designated and the land crossed by an easement will not be calculated as open space.

“Mr. Branon said they’d make minor adjustments to lot lines to bring the plan in compliance with open space requirements,” Marshall said.

Branon and the Planning Board also agreed that any future change of use by the homeowners’ association would require approval of the Planning Board.

Marshall said Branon and Mitchell have agreed to many adjustments to the plans during a long series of meetings.

“We are moving closer in our deliberative process,” he said. “We wanted to tie up as many loose ends as we can. I’m hoping that in another meeting or two we can reach a point where we’ll be able to reach a decision.”

The board will continue its deliberation on the proposal at its Aug. 26 meeting.

Dave Anderson can be reached at 924-7172, ext. 233 or danderson@ledgertranscript.com. He’s on Twitter at @DaveAndersonMLT.